Ever Yearning, Never Learning
by Garsario
Summary: This is a story that follows Quinton Drent, an informal Lt.. Corporal of a state alchemist. His only objective is to further progress his alchemic abilities. Along the way he'll make both allies and enemies, and is the price of progress too much for him to bear? (Rated T for violence and other stuff not suited for kids. Reason for name in second A/N of Ch.1)
1. Chapter 1

**Herro, Garsario here. This is a fic about another OC of mine in the FMA world, which I do not own i any way. It will mainly involve things from the original FMA, might have things from brotherhood. I will work on this whenever there are certain... complications with my other fic. I'd like to dedicate this first chapter to Sunlight NYA for helping me get a start on this when I was stuck. So now, without further adieu, I present the first chapter to Ever Yearning, Never Learning. **

Chapter 1: Meeting the Prodigy

(Quinton Drent: Age of 22, 6,1 in height, short, brown hair and sky blue eyes. Slim in build, is ranked as a Lt. Corporal, same as Roy Mustang at the time. Joined the military a week after his 18th birthday. Has numerous scars along his arms and legs.) "I can't believe this! Of all the places to be sent, they had to send me to a town in the middle of the freaking desert!" I yelled, ever clad in his light blue hoodie, dark blue jeans, and hiking boots. "At the very least he could have told me who it was they wanted me to assist. All he said was 'Go to Lior and aid the alchemist that left yesterday. He has yet to report back, I'd like for you to help him finish up with whatever he's doing if he's not done yet.' Man! That Mustang really burns me up, where does he get the nerve of bossing me around? We're the same rank for crying out loud!" I would have gone on with my tirade if it hadn't been for the fact that the town was in sight. "Finally! I've had enough of this desert to last me a lifetime." I said, running the rest of the way.

Not long after reaching the town did I notice that something strange in the air. "Ugh. What's that smell?" I decided to follow the smell to its source, which happened to be a fountain gushing out a red liquid. "No wonder it stinks, this fountain spewing out wine! Can't stand the smell of the stuff." I gripped, pulling my hood over my nose. I left the wine fountain in order to continue with my search, stopping at what looked like a small restaurant, or a walk by bar for all I knew. "Excuse me, have you seen any state alchemist come by here?" I asked the man behind the counter, he appeared to be in his late 40's to early 50's. He wore a red cap and a green shirt with a white apron on top, I couldn't see the rest of him due to the counter. "Hmm? Yeah there was actually, went by the name of the Fullmetal Alchemist I believe. Left town not too long ago really." "What! which way did he go?" I yelled, slamming my hands on the counter. "Easy there, he left the same way you came in." "Really? Thanks for the tip." I said as I began to ran back the way I came from. "Can't believe that I just missed him!" I groaned to myself. After about eight minutes of running I began to make out two shaped along the horizon. "Finally, I caught up to them." With this, I ran even harder to try and catch up. "Hey!" I yelled in an attempt to get their attention. They must have heard me because they turned around and stopped. "*huff* Thanks for *huff* waiting up." I said after finally catching up to the two, and out of breath. It was then I noticed what they both looked like. One was tall and wearing a full suit of armor, the other was short and wore a red jacket with a hood and black pants with black boots.

"So, your the Fullmetal Alchemist huh?" I said looking to the guy in the armor suit. "Oh that's not me." He said waving his hands, almost nervously. "Him?" I said, pointing to the shorter of the two. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you to be named that since your the one in the armor?" I asked him, not wanting to mention the height of the other one, just in case he's the type that get pissed off about being called short. "Actually, i'm not even a state alchemist. My older brother's the one who's a state alchemist." He said to me, still acting nervous. "Since when is the shorter brother the older one?" Crap, that slipped out. The smaller of the two,clearly pissed now, went on a tirade. "Who the heck are you calling short! What's next, you gonna call me a half-pint midget!?" He would have gone on for who knows how long if I didn't cut him off. "Roy Mustang sent me by the way. He told me to help you out with whatever it was you were doing. Who would have thought that he sent me to look after a childish giant and his touchy older brother." I said, rubbing the back of my head. "Wait, did you say Mustang. Whats that jerk planning now?" said Fullmetal. "Look, before anything else, how about we introduce each other? It feels awkward just thinking of only calling you Fullmetal like Roy does." I said, holding my hands up to stop them from continuing. "I'll start us off, my name's Quinton Drent. And to answer your question about Roy, no idea either. Worse part is, he orders me around even though we're the same rank." I said, getting a little frustrated at the last part. "My names Edward Elric, and this is my little brother Alphonse. But you can just call us Ed and Al." Edward said, pointing at the armor when he mentioned Alphonse. "Nice to meet you both. Now, about we walk and talk, I'd rather not be in this desert more then I need to." I said, wiping some sweat off my forehead.

The next day, we managed to get back to central, and without any more slip ups about Ed being short. "So What made you become an alchemist?" Al asked, an eager tone in his voice. "Nothing big that's worth mentioning. Just simply the want to further my skills as an alchemist. And to answer your question from earlier on the train, Ed, I don't wear my uniform for two reasons. First, I'm not he uptight kind of person like most dogs of the military like Major Armstrong or Mustang. You apparently think the same way in that case by the looks of it." I said, pointing out Ed's clothes. "The second reason, they never last long enough for me. They always get ripped or torn before anything major happens." I explained to them both. Ed finally joined in on mine and Al's conversation, probably from boredom"You also never answered my question about what kind of alchemy you use." "Like wise. Although, I will at least say what my title is in order to give you a hint. Where as you are called the Fullmetal Alchemist, I in turn am called the Quickbolt Alchemist."I retorted back. "Anyway, looks like we're at the library you guys wanted to go to. Maybe I'll catch you guys around sometime." I said, waving as I went to go and give my report to Roy Mustang. "Aw crap, he never did tell me why he was called Fullmetal! Meh, maybe next time I see him he'll tell me."

**This is my first ever FMA fic (second fic total). Tell me what you think and/or what you think could have been better in a reply. Also, if you're curious about the title's name and why it's what it is, there are two reasons really. The first is that, at the time of starting this fic, I kept thinking of names that might work but only as chapter titles, then I thought 'Ever Yearning, Never Learning" for some reason or another and it stuck. The second reason (after a day or two of thought that is) is that no matter how much an alchemist might learn, they always yearn for more knowledge. Because of this, is the alchemist really learning anything, or are they only learning a small piece of something they really want to know? A good example of this would be the Elric Brothers. Even after they learn about the makings of the Philosophers Stone, they continue to try and learn of a way to get their bodies back. Sorry to get so deep, hope you enjoyed the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Herro everyone, Garsario here. Sorry for the delay on this chapter, everything's been pretty hectic where I'm at. But enough about me, you're here for the story and it's the story you're gonna get. So, without further adieu, enjoy.**

Chapter 2: Straight from the Horses mouth

After having dropped off the Elric brothers at the library I found myself in Roy Mustang's office giving him both mine and Edward's written reports. Having read through it beforehand though, I found it rather interesting to say the least. A mere child in comparison to most state alchemists, and he practically leveled an entire church and managed to almost, if not certainly, raze an entire religion. I don't know whether to be impressed with his work, or horrified by it.

"So this is both of your reports then?" Roy asked, setting Edward's report onto his desk.

I simply gave a nod "Yes it is. Unfortunately I didn't get there until after the destruction had transpired. I might have been able to get there sooner if Someone had managed to get me some kind of transportation." I answered, sitting on one of the couches that was in his office.

"It's not my fault that you didn't find one yourself. Or make one for that matter." He replied, folding his hands as he leaned his head on them. And I swear he was smirking behind them too.

"You know darn well that my alchemy doesn't work like that. Asking me to make transportation is like asking you to light a cigarette in the rain, nearly impossible." I retorted, knowing how useless he was in when he or his gloves got wet.

"What exactly do you mean by 'nearly' impossible?" Roy asked, showing his usual interest to further progress his alchemy. But only for military purposes and to climb higher in the rankings, or so would someone think if they hadn't been around the guy long enough to know him. Most likely, his interest lay in the prospect of being able to better protect his subordinates.

"Exactly as I said. Nothing is truly impossible unless you think it is. I mean, just think about how it works for a moment. In order for your gloves to work they need friction and heat, which is gone the moment they get wet." I stated, having caught his interest. "Now the easiest solution, if not the only one, is to find a way to make a spark even when you're wet. Granted it's easier said then done, but still better then nothing." I added, which received nothing more then a stare from Roy.

"Thank you for the advice. You're dismissed." he said, picking up one of the reports on his desk to read.

"Yes sir." I said, giving a mock salute as I got up to leave his office. But before I could open the door, Roy decided to stop me.

"One last thing before you go. There's been some recent incidents in East City, I'd like for you to take care of them." he said, not bothering to look up from his current document.

"And if I were to refuse? Seeing as you haven't made Corporal just yet, I have the option to do so." I told him, getting slightly irked that he was trying to order me around again.

"Well then, that's a shame. There was someone who used alchemy there that's a lot like yours. I thought you'd be interested in learning what he could do. But if you don't want to, I could always just send someone else." Roy said, acting as though he couldn't decide who else he could send. And like that, I fell for it.

"Did you just say that someone uses my kind of alchemy?" I asked, completely interested now. "Alright. I'll do it! Just give me the details and i'll be off." I said

"Good. The file should be waiting for you at the front, along with a ride this time." Roy said, working on going through more reports.

"Alright then. Good luck with all those reports then." Was all I said as I walked out of his office and closed the door.

It was only while I was on the train to East City that realization dawned on me. "Wait, I fell for his usual trick again. Didn't I? Crap." I said, imagining Roy's reaction to me doing exactly what he wanted me to do.

**Again, sorry for being late on the update. I tried using a different format of writing up this chapter. if enough people like the format I did the previous chapter, I might go back to using that format. But if people like this new one, I'll keep using it, might even go back to Ch. 1 and change it's format. I plan on working on Ch.3 right away, so hopefully those of you who are reading this won't have to wait as long. And before I forget, this chapter is brought to you by my Grammar Nazi/Editor of a friend, who would say 'Hail Grammar!' if he were here. **


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